Colorado Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez, right, runs to first as he hits a two-run home run while Los Angeles Angels catcher Rene Rivera watches during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif.

Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif.

Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press

Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Noe Ramirez throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif.

Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press

Colorado Rockies' Trevor Story, right, is tagged out by Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons while trying to steal second during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels trotted out their bullpen to pitch the entirety of Tuesday’s finale against Colorado, with Noe Ramirez becoming the first player in Los Angeles history to start a game the day after earning a save and six other relievers mostly keeping the Rockies’ offense at bay.

But while Los Angeles’ untraditional Johnny Wholestaff approach was effective, Rockies’ ace Kyle Freeland was more so, throwing six innings of one-run ball in a fifth straight quality start before the Colorado bullpen locked down the 3-2, bounce-back win.

Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run homer to right to bring around Charlie Blackmon gave the Rockies a 2-0 advantage off Ramirez and the Angels in the first, but the Los Angeles trio of Jim Johnson, Taylor Cole and Cam Bedrosian shut Colorado down over the next five innings.

“CarGo’s home run was the difference, because it always helps when Freeland gets any sort of lead early,” Blackmon said. “He’s been so good lately, and he was good again tonight.”

Cole, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Salt Lake, was particularly efficient by working ahead to seven of the nine Rockies batters he faced during three scoreless innings as Colorado couldn’t crack the extended Los Angeles bullpen into the fifth.

“Facing all those relievers, it’s a little different in the sense that you don’t get a couple at-bats against one guy, and you can’t build off the at-bat before,” Blackmon said. “Everything’s a one-off, and it’s harder to settle in.”

In the bottom of that frame, David Fletcher’s RBI single scored Eric Young Jr. as the Angels got on the board at 2-1, but Freeland limited the damage with a caught-looking strikeout of Mike Trout on a fastball at the top of the zone.

Freeland then walked Albert Pujols to open the sixth but responded with three straight outs, ending his outing and lowering his season ERA to 2.90 — on pace to challenge Ubaldo Jimenez’s franchise record of 2.88 in 2010, and the best among all National League southpaw starters with at least 150 innings pitched.

His consistency came despite a slider that wasn’t as sharp as usual as Colorado earned its first win in Anaheim since June 25, 2010, snapping a five-game losing streak in Orange County.

“The slider was really big here at sea level with so much moisture in the air, and I had trouble back-dooring it tonight because I wasn’t able to keep it tight,” Freeland said. “But other than that, the fastball was working well, and me and Chris (Iannetta) were on the same page. The change-up kept them off-balance.”

The Rockies threatened to extend their 2-1 lead in the sixth only to see Nolan Arenado smoke a 103.7 mph line out to second base to terminate a first-and-third situation, but finally added some insurance the next frame with Ian Desmond’s sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.

Desmond’s RBI was set up by Trevor Story’s leadoff infield single, a steal of second and then his advancement to third on a Gerardo Parra pop-out.

“Trevor can play the complete game, as we know, on both sides,” Black said. “That was big with the stolen base, and having awareness to getting to third on Parra’s drive to left.”

That run would prove vital as Scott Oberg spelled Freeland in the seventh, working flawlessly in the frame before encountering trouble in the eighth. Fletcher led off with a single, then Trout’s fly out advanced him to second, a wild pitch got him to third and Pujols’ sacrifice fly brought him home to make it 3-2.

But Wade Davis completed the bullpen’s amends for the collapse that led to a 10-7 defeat the previous evening, setting Los Angeles down in order to secure his NL-leading 36th save.

“That was a tough (five-run) eighth inning (Monday) for sure, and to have Scott come in and pitch a crisp seventh — and work through the eighth in the heart of their order — was great,” Black said. “And Wade had a good ninth, obviously, with three strikeouts.”

With the victory, Colorado moved into a tie for first place in the NL West, as the Diamondbacks lost 1-0 on a walk-off in San Francisco. The Dodgers remain one game back of both clubs after beating the Rangers 8-4. The Rockies are now 23-13 in one-run games.

Kyle Newman is a sports writer for The Denver Post who covers the Colorado Rockies and other pro, college and high school athletics. Prior to that, he was executive editor of the Colorado Sports Network and The Fan Varsity Sports Network. He is a 2012 graduate of the ASU Cronkite School.